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At the Rink: Rangers at Wild

by
Dan Myers
/ NHL.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- In their quest to win a division championship, the New York Rangers will get a crucial piece to the lineup back from injury when they play the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; MSG, FS-N, FS-WI).

"I thought overall that line was pretty effective at both ends of the rink," Vigneault told the Rangers website Wednesday. "It was the first time that we tried those three. I'm not 100 percent sure that's what I'm going to do, but I would say I'm at least 90 percent sure that's how we're going to start off [Thursday]."

Minnesota will have forward Kyle Brodziak back in the lineup after he missed the past three games with an upper-body injury. With Brodziak in, forward Erik Haula will be a healthy scratch.

"We like depth and we like the fact that we have depth that we know we can plug in," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "There's a lot of challenges and a lot of things that aren't ideal. The number of bodies for practice and for skates is a challenge, but things change quickly."

Goaltender Devan Dubnyk will make his 35th consecutive start with the Wild since being acquired Jan. 14 and 36th straight overall. He will oppose Henrik Lundqvist, who made 33 saves Tuesday in his first victory since returning from injury last Saturday.

Status report: Staal had a maintenance day Wednesday but should be in the lineup. … Yeo mentioned a possible return for Cooke on Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Who's hot: Zuccarello has at least a point in six of his past seven, including a goal Tuesday in a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets. He had a goal and two assists against the Wild in New York's 5-4 win in October, his lone three-point game of the season. … Koivu has points in three consecutive games and in four of his past five, including a two-goal, three-point game last Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.